For Sunday February 16th, 2020

Hello to everyone, self-awareness can be difficult, even painful at times. Our personal foibles can be embarrassing to face up to. One way of avoiding this inner torment is to follow an image of authority. By relinquishing necessary and challenging inner work, which ultimately leads to personal growth, to follow someone else's preset rules - we trade true happiness for temporary comfort.

Authority creates power. Power can corrupt the leader and blind the follower. It leads us away from the matter of our inner issues and gives a balm, which necessarily fades over time.

May we sit this Sunday for the courage to dig in. May we see ourselves clearly and lovingly. May such love fully 'be' on this Earth.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday February 9th, 2020

Hello to everyone, the economic difficulties of the world; the political turmoil; environmental disasters of pollution; tectonic plate upheavals of earthquakes and volcanoes; endless separations of people into 'us' and 'them'; personal internal strife of anger, anxiety, and fears; the addiction to external power, and much more – can all be handled in the same fundamental way. The world needs the 'spiritual glue' which holds it all together.

The practice of love, backed by honesty, and in search of wisdom, is always welcome, no matter who or where you are, or who you interact with. 

May we sit this Sunday for spiritual growth. May we be loving to ourselves and others. May we pray for the bigger picture.

Thank you all,

Richard 

For Sunday February 2nd, 2020

Hello to all, how do we handle all the tumult in the world today? We have earthquakes, volcanoes, storms, wild fires, and political turmoil offered to us daily on the news channels. How might we respond to it?

As a friend once said, "Put on the song 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' and play it several times, as often as you need. Really get into it and actually be happy. And now that you're happy, get up and get to work!"

Our job is to spread joy and love. Our job is to maintain the minimum amount of 'spiritual glue' needed to keep Mother Earth in balance. Our job is to love one another. We do a better job of that when we're happy.

May we sit Sunday evening for the best we can be and the best we can share.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 26th, 2020

Hello everyone, the word 'fervent' is an adjective which refers to having or displaying a passionate intensity. It's archaic meaning is 'hot, burning, or glowing' and in Latin it means boiling.

Now let's consider the phrase 'fervent prayer.' It's the intensity of prayer which Padre Pio, Saint Francis of Assisi, the modern Tom Sawyer, and many other great prophets employed while doing their spiritual work. It has been described as the condition in which, for the person praying, nothing exists but the actual prayer itself.

May we sit this Sunday toward fervent prayer. There are many, many circumstances in the world which could benefit from that degree of effort, including Mother Earth herself. May we meet each other there.

Thank you all for all you do,

Richard

For Sunday January 19, 2020

Due to poor time management skills here is an 'oldy but goody' from three years ago: 

Hello everyone, comedy guru Swami Beyondananda talks about changing the world, "...when it comes to healing our lives - or the world - the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. The heartless minds that value money over all else have tried to convince us that their inhuman nature is our human nature. I say if we want the Golden Rule to overrule the rule of gold, we have to embody the heart core values of truth, beauty and goodness."

I don't know how to say it better. This Sunday may we sit to see ourselves clearly, laugh at what we find, and love beautifully.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 12th, 2020

Hello to all, in these turbulent times of wildfires, earthquakes, and political upheaval, when great spiritual work is essential – a soothing salve is necessary.

Let's combine Tom Sawyer's comment, "It's like the song 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' and now that you're happy – get to work" with the writer Anne Lamott who opines 'laughter is carbonated holiness.' 

Intensive times require extensive spiritual effort, followed by maintenance and renewal. May we practice all three as needed in our journeys.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday January 5th, 2020

Hello everyone, for all the difficulties that exist in the world today, grace still endures; quietness can be found, seabirds still float on water, and deer disappear into woodlands.

Taking time to renew ourselves can be as simple as gazing out of a window. The faster events occur in life the more essential it becomes to do so.

May we endeavor to keep up with the world by taking moments to slow down. May the windows of our souls open to the beauty of the world. May our hearts shine in the darkness.

Thank you all,

Richard

Welcome to 2020!

Hello everyone, I've been looking forward to this year ever since the beginning of last year. I have nothing to point at to say, "This is why." But, I've been enjoying the idea of this year coming for quite some time. 

As I wrote, it feels like this year is chock full of wonderful things just waiting for a chance to occur. It's as though spirituality sends down these carefully selected 'bleams of goodness' to the Earth which then look for open, receptive individuals and situations through which they may manifest - all done for the enhancement of humanity. 

If so, then let's stay open and receptive to what may come. 

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday December 29th, 2019

Hello to all, humans divide energy into arbitrary fragments. We choose this, that, and other to define all we observe. Everything is separated and labeled into easy-to-think-of categories. It is this, our concept of separation, which gives rise to conflict.

And yet, similar to waves on an ocean, all energies are part of a unitary movement, a completeness from which nothing can be separated, a Oneness. If we dispense with separation and learn Oneness, we can solve conflict.

May we sit this evening to see with the widest possible clarity. May we see separation as an illusion. May we absorb into Oneness.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday December 22nd, 2019 - I forgot to attach this image

For Sunday December 22nd, 2019

Hello everyone, what happens when you say, "I love you," to your own heart? This simple act of self-healing can bring a sense of ease, and fortitude in difficult times.

In this sometimes chaotic, battered world it can be a chance to 'catch our breath'.

May we sit this evening for our very personal selves. May we bring ourselves to peace within. May we breathe in love.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday December 15th, 2019

Hello all, Krishnamurti claims that wisdom is born of an abundance of compassion, and further, compassion comes from knowing our innate connection. 

Proof of Krishnamurti's comment can be seen in the current propensity toward separation and division. You can watch it nullify compassion and push us away from wisdom. To counter this we each have the opportunity to see some piece of ourselves in every other person we meet, and treat them accordingly.

May we sit this Sunday for the connections we all share. May we treat each other as fellow humans. May we love one another as we are loved.

Thank you all,

Richard

For Sunday December 8th, 2019

Hello everyone, perhaps not absolute saints but the rest of us can be seen as having two motivators. There is a part of us which is continuously connected to Universal Consciousness, and there is a part which has been consciously separated from Universal Consciousness, our personal ego. The need, for those who strive to love outwardly, is to identify where our daily impulses are coming from.

The fruits of the ego, anger, fear, and revenge, are powerful, addictive, and temporarily satisfying. But the fruits of the spirit bring contentment, an encompassing satisfaction, inner peace, and kindness toward self and others.

May we sit this Sunday for the capacity to identify and choose well from among the impulses that arise in our lives. May we have the courage to search for higher guidance, and the strength to follow it.

Thank you all,

Richard